Two days ago I purchased a 2009 Yaris (automatic/hatchback) after having test driven the Honda Fit, the Kia Rio, and the Toyota Yaris.

Consumer Reports says of the 2009 Yaris...

"Ultimately the Yaris scored too low in our testing to be recommended."

That's funny, after thoroughly going over and test driving the Fit, the Rio, and the Yaris, I would recommend the Yaris as the overall best buy for the money unless one finds some of the extras in the Fit to be worth the extra $3000.

Below is a critique of Consumer Reports rating of the Yaris and their inconsistencies when compared to other reviews of subcompacts.

Consumer Reports overall ratings of the 3 cars I test drove are as follows...

I'd like to make some observations and demonstrate that someone at Consumer Reports (hereafter CR) must be on crack.

First of all, the Honda Fit...This was a nice car and I don't find fault with CR's rating of it. For me, I just did not see the 'extras' with the extra $3,000 and I liked the look of the Yaris better. Enough said.

Moving to the Kia Rio...I think CR is completely off base. The Rio's engine and wind noise was awful compared to either the Fit or the Yaris. It's construction 'felt' to be much cheaper of the three and didn't have the 'fun' factor that both the Fit and the Yaris had. The Kia Rio is ranked higher on both 'acceleration' and 'comfort and convenience' than the Yaris but I contend that the reverse is actually true.

Having driven both the Yaris and the Rio, I found the Yaris to soundly outperform the Rio both in 'acceleration' and 'comfort and convenience'. The Yaris is a peppy little car that zings in and out of traffic with ease that clearly surpassed the Rio. The engine doesn't sound like it is about to explode in the Yaris when you punch like the Rio does. It also has better mpg.

The Yaris is much quieter than the Rio, handles better, looks better, makes better overall use of internal space and IS A TOYOTA AND NOT A KIA!!!

CR must clearly be on crack to rate the Kia Rio above the Toyota Yaris. Besides the objective differences between these two cars, the Rio has a staggering depreciation value while the Yaris retains its value. Kia has yet to prove it can build cars that will remain solid after the 100,000 mile mark whereas the Yaris is expected to be a good car past the 200,000 mile mark (Toyota).

I just don't see how anyone in their right mind would think the Rio is a better car than the Yaris. The only negative thing I can see is the unconventional center placement of the console in the Yaris (which is not too difficult to get used to. The Minis have the speedometer in the middle and people think that is 'cool' in that car. As a matter of fact, CR gives the Mini an overall rating of 81 and makes no complaint over its center console and gives it a better rating for fuel economy than the Yaris when the Yaris is on par or better than the Mini or mpg. (What gives?)

All this to say, CR has completely missed it on the 2009 Toyota Yaris. The review is out of step with the way they rate other subcompacts and comparisons to issues between the Kia Rio and the Toyota Yaris make me believe they were drugged or else were driving completely different cars than the ones I drove.

To any who may be put off from buying the Yaris due to CR's review...do yourself a huge favor and make sure you drive a few cars in this class for yourself and include the Yaris in your test runs. After shopping around myself, I am convinced that the Yaris is the best buy for the money unless one finds some of the extra features in the Honda Fit to be worth the extra $3,000. Whatever you do, have your head examined if you are considering purchasing the Kio Rio instead of the Toyota Yaris. The Rio is an inferior product when compared to the Yaris.

For the record...I am not on crack and I love the way my Yaris performs. I am 6 foot tall and find it comfortable, peppy for such a small motor, and the mpg is just insane compered to my prior car (a PT Cruiser...never again).

Yep, I read the CR report and how the Yaris handles bad at limits. At Limits????? This is a small family car and they couldn't fault its around town handling so they say it's bad at limits. If I was to drive at limits I'd be on a race track. CR SUCKS. I don't trust them anymore.

That's funny, after thoroughly going over and test driving the Fit, the Rio, and the Yaris, I would recommend the Yaris as the overall best buy for the money unless one finds some of the extras in the Fit to be worth the extra $3000.

I also tested both the Yaris and Fit many times and am in no way unhappy with my decision.

The Fit was bumpier, noisier, and too expensive to justify the difference in price. I've come to like and actually prefer the center console and no car beats the loose stuff storage capacity of the Yaris -- in fact the other day I 'lost' my inverter and finally realized which of the 20 something storage spots I'd put it in... :-)

I'm starting to think there is some kind of conspiracy against the Yaris in the automotive media. The only review I've seen that remotely resembles my experience was the one done by mpgomatic. Every other review I've read/watched has left me wondering if they're referring to the correct car. Can't be the same car I drive.

When researching before I made my purchase decision I put more weight in the reviews written by "everyday motorists" who owned the cars than I did the auto press. I'm glad I did.

I was too deciding between the Fit, Versa and Yaris, this was back in 07 and I couldn't justify the price for the fit, and didn't care for the looks of the Versa. To be honest if I had the money I would've gone with the Mini. But I'm loving this little car and at 12K, Toyota Quality and Fun Factor I truly believe its the best in its price range.

I really liked the Kia Rio 5 when I drove it. The things that kept me from buying were the terrible manual transmission shifter feel and the low depreciation possibility. Otherwise, you get a lot for your money with a Rio or Rio 5.

I'm starting to think there is some kind of conspiracy against the Yaris in the automotive media. The only review I've seen that remotely resembles my experience was the one done by mpgomatic. Every other review I've read/watched has left me wondering if they're referring to the correct car. Can't be the same car I drive.

When researching before I made my purchase decision I put more weight in the reviews written by "everyday motorists" who owned the cars than I did the auto press. I'm glad I did.

Yep, go to the major auto sites and compare the "official" review to the ones done by their readers/owners and you'll find very different results.

You'd think with Toyota no longer offering "simple" basic cars any more that CR would cut them some slack. The 2009 Yaris comes standard with Nanny State crap like multiple windbags, Anti-skill braking systems, Electronic evasion suppression devices and other garbeldygook. I'd figure that CR would applaud Toyota for getting on the bandwagon instead of leaving Yari for the 3rd world market.

Sorry to complain... in any case, with Toyota obeying the law and installing these gadgets into Yarii you'd think that CR would cut them some slack.

I think KIA paid someone off or enticed someone to visit with an underaged girl in Korea and then took naughty photos. Some sort of strong motivation is at work here.

Yea I read the CR review after I had my Yaris for a while and thought they were on crack too. I refused to get a Kia for reliability and resale value issues, and I didn't really like the look (not at all compared to the Yaris ) Same for a Focus. I test drove an auto Yaris and really liked it, and it seemed peppy compared to the auto mitsu I owned before. I knew from my research that the auto Yari were mentioned to be slow to accelerate, so I had to have a manual. I looked at a Fit, but it looks too minivan-like and was too expensive for what you get. I love my Yaris. I can't help but smile at it when I see it, even after owning it for almost a year at this point. It's a blast to drive, too and any stability problems "at the limits" were taken care of by the lowering springs and the sway bar. Wheels would help further, if I could afford them... I think most people who buy Yari love them. I think the CR reviewer was having a bad day (or truly was on crack). Maybe you need to spend more then 20 minutes with it, to truly appreciate it?

__________________The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksureand the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell